Sketchup

[oThatsEric]

anyone ever use this for mocking up a design? any thoughts or comments would help, i wanna try using this :D

 

if you dont know: http://www.sketchup.com/

 

[Pingypoker]

Sketchup is good for some basic stuff. I've used it a few times, but I prefer 3DS Max. Kind of a ~$4000 price difference though.

[Youbetternot]

Never heard of

[Damikiller37]

I never in my life have been mentored on how to use a 3D modelling software such as Sketchup yet I find it really easy to use and get stuff done in. I just played around with it to make a custom case and it wasn't challenging at all. Definitely give it a go!

[oThatsEric]

I never in my life have been mentored on how to use a 3D modelling software such as Sketchup yet I find it really easy to use and get stuff done in. I just played around with it to make a custom case and it wasn't challenging at all. Definitely give it a go!

 

thanks mang  :lol:

[Power]

I've used it when I was like 10, I must agree it's amazingly easy compared to other software, BUT not as extensive.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

SketchUp is by far the easiest software to use, and best of all it's free. I often use it for messing about with first draft designs etc, after which I jump into AutoCAD, Inventor or SolidWorks when I need to design specific parts with accurate dimensions. Inventor is great for this because of the way it lets you assemble several parts, so if you're designing a case you can see how it would look with the specific parts with the specific dimensions. You will often need to do stuff in SolidWorks though if you need it cut at a local business, as this will often be the only compatible filetype.

[t0wer]

I started drafting and modeling in autocad in high school.

I recently got back into modeling for a 3d printer I have coming in soon.

 

for basic stuff sketchup is really simple, and there a many plugins that help with it's limitations.

if you're just testing a build, sketchup will be the cheapest and easiest option.

 

if you're used to programming look into openscad. The syntax has a pretty steep learning curve, but it makes sense to some people.

 

inventor 123d is autodesks entry into the free modeling software, I prefer sketchup to this as I can import .stl files, and sketchup makes more sense for me. but some of the tools are nicer in 123d, the main ones I've used have been fillet and chamfer.

 

freecad is another open source program, but I don't have much experience with it.

[oThatsEric]

SketchUp is by far the easiest software to use, and best of all it's free. I often use it for messing about with first draft designs etc, after which I jump into AutoCAD, Inventor or SolidWorks when I need to design specific parts with accurate dimensions. Inventor is great for this because of the way it lets you assemble several parts, so if you're designing a case you can see how it would look with the specific parts with the specific dimensions. You will often need to do stuff in SolidWorks though if you need it cut at a local business, as this will often be the only compatible filetype.

 

I started drafting and modeling in autocad in high school.

I recently got back into modeling for a 3d printer I have coming in soon.

 

for basic stuff sketchup is really simple, and there a many plugins that help with it's limitations.

if you're just testing a build, sketchup will be the cheapest and easiest option.

 

if you're used to programming look into openscad. The syntax has a pretty steep learning curve, but it makes sense to some people.

 

inventor 123d is autodesks entry into the free modeling software, I prefer sketchup to this as I can import .stl files, and sketchup makes more sense for me. but some of the tools are nicer in 123d, the main ones I've used have been fillet and chamfer.

 

freecad is another open source program, but I don't have much experience with it.

 

appreciate the thoughts, ill probably be downloading it when my classes start